Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production

Canadian ambition under responsible consumption and production

Canada's ambition^{Footnote 2} for this goal is to ensure Canadians consume in a sustainable manner. Canada aspires to improve resource consumption and related environmental footprints by promoting more sustainable business models and consumer choices, such as:

the purchase of zero-emission vehicles
extending the lifespan of products through repair and refurbishment

It also supports the reduction and sound management of chemicals and waste, and the reduction of food loss and waste.

Canada's target is for zero-emission vehicles to represent 100% of new light duty vehicle sales by 2035, with interim targets of at least 20% by 2026, and at least 60% by 2030.

Measuring Progress: the Canadian Indicator Framework

In collaboration with federal departments and agencies, Statistics Canada has developed the Canadian Indicator Framework (CIF) for the Sustainable Development Goals. The CIF includes 76 indicators specific to Canada, which measure progress using a set of nationally relevant, objective and comprehensive indicators. CIF indicators for SDG 12 are:

proportion of new light duty vehicle registrations that are zero-emission vehicles
proportion of businesses that adopted selected environmental protection activities and management practices
total waste diversion per capita

What we are doing to support responsible consumption and production in Canada

The Government of Canada is working with all levels of government, industry, non-governmental organizations, academia and Canadians to take action on plastic waste and pollution to meet Canada's target of zero plastic waste by 2030. Important aspects of this agenda include:

implementing the Canada-wide Strategy and Action Plan on Zero Plastic Waste, which provides a framework for federal, provincial and territorial action to better prevent, reduce, reuse, recover, capture, and clean up plastic waste
developing policies, laws and regulations and agreements to prevent plastic waste, such as the Microbeads in Toiletries Regulations
investing in research through Canada's Plastics Science Agenda, in innovation through a series of Canadian Plastics Innovation Challenges, and in community action through the Zero Plastic Waste Initiative
implementing the Real Property Plastics Action Plan to reduce the use of plastic in construction projects, government buildings and leases. The plan includes the delivery of ongoing waste audits; engagement with building occupants using a digital platform; elimination of single-use plastics, and establishing performance specifications for furniture and fit-up materials.

The Government of Canada is transitioning its light-duty fleet vehicles to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in order to reduce emissions from government operations and achieve a target of 100% ZEVs by 2030. It is also making it easier for Canadians to choose cleaner technologies, such as ZEVs by:

helping Canadians and Canadian businesses overcome the higher upfront purchase price of ZEVs through the federal Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) Program, which provides a purchase incentive of up to $5,000 on eligible ZEVs
promoting the transition towards ZEV production in Canada's automotive sector by offering a 50% corporate tax cut for businesses manufacturing ZEVs and ZEV components in Canada

Launched in 2019 by the Government of Canada, the first ever Food Policy for Canada:

has a vision that all Canadians are able to access a sufficient amount of safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food
seeks to support a food system that is resilient and innovative, sustains our environment and supports our economy

As part of implementing the Food Policy for Canada, the Government of Canada launched the Food Waste Reduction Challenge. The Challenge was a call for innovators to deliver game-changing solutions to the long-standing and complex issue of food loss and food waste. As the Challenge draws to a close, grand prize winners will be announced in 2024.

The Government of Canada is also leading efforts towards developing a Food Loss and Waste Reduction Action Plan, as committed to at the 10th North American Leaders Summit in January 2023.

The Government of Canada is working to ensure sustainable consumption and production through a number of other initiatives, including by:

implementing the Greening Government Strategy, which includes measures to electrify the government's fleet, purchase clean electricity, minimize waste generation and water use, and green government procurement
providing consumers with information and tools they need to be able to practice informed sustainable consumption. By empowering consumers with information, the Office of Consumer Affairs is supporting voluntary action to reduce environmental impacts and promote clean growth
donating food and consumable surplus research crops to food banks across Canada, through GCSurplus, and ensuring increased access to nutritious foods for Canadians with food insecurities. Approximately 67,200 lbs of fruits and vegetables have been donated since 2021
promoting and supporting the responsible business conduct of Canadian companies active abroad through Global Affairs Canada's 2022 to 2027 Strategy for Responsible Business Conduct Abroad

The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy is seeking to advance Canada's circular economy through efforts to reduce waste, re-use end-of-life products, and recycle their mineral content by means of innovative technologies and processing techniques (for example, mining value from tailings, recycling wastewater, reuse of chemicals). This will contribute to an environmentally responsible and economically competitive critical minerals sector.

The Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan (CMMP), through its strategic direction on the Environment, supports actions that contribute to sustainable consumption and production patterns. This is done while positioning Canada as a reliable, sustainable, and responsible source of natural resources. The CMMP calls for greater collaboration between governments and industry to reduce waste and support the circular economy.

The Government of Canada also works with domestic and international partners to reduce the risks posed to Canadians and the environment by exposure to harmful substances.

In June 2023, the Government of Canada was an official partner in the first Canadian Circular Economy Summit held in Toronto. The event sought to raise the profile of the circular economy and was a key event to convene governments and stakeholders on the circular economy.

The Government of Canada also participates in Circular Economy Month, a nation-wide public awareness campaign dedicated to educating and empowering Canadians to support the transition toward a more circular economy. Led by the Circular Innovation Council, the first-ever Circular Economy Month was launched in 2022 and is now in its second year.

What Canada is doing to support responsible consumption and production abroad

Canada hosted the World Circular Economy Forum 2021 virtually with the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra in September 2021, in collaboration with partner organizations. The Forum focussed on identifying concrete actions, or ‘game changers', that can be taken over the next 5 years by businesses, policy makers, civil society and others, to support system-level change and accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

Since its launch in 2018, Canada has spearheaded the Ocean Plastics Charter. The Charter is the only global framework that asks government, business and organization signatories to take a resource-efficient lifecycle management approach to plastic waste. The Charter currently has almost 30 government and over 70 business and organization endorsees from around the globe.

To advance the objectives of the Ocean Plastics Charter, Canada delivered $100 million through key international partners such as the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. This funding was delivered to:

address plastic waste in developing countries
spark innovation to beat plastic pollution
support innovative private-public partnerships

Canada also provided $5 million to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to support efforts to ensure inclusive, equitable and transparent negotiations towards an international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution and other priorities, including nature-based solutions and methane emissions reduction.

Canada works with the G7, G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), International Resource Panel, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other international stakeholders on issues related to resource efficiency and the circular economy.

Canada has made a number of G7 commitments in this area, including:

the 2015 G7 Action Plan to Combat Marine Litter
collaboration and knowledge sharing through the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency
the 2016 Toyama Framework on Material Cycles
the 2017 Bologna Roadmap on Resource Efficiency
the 2022 Berlin Roadmap on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy
the 2023 Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency Principles

Within the G20, Canada adopted the 2017 G20 Action Plan on Marine Litter and the 2019 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter.

Canada participates in the G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue to exchange information on circular and resource efficiency policies, as well as best practices for resource efficiency. Canada is also a member of the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency.

Canada is also working with international partners at the IMO in the implementation of the Action Plan to Address Marine Plastic Litter from Ships.

With respect to chemicals management, Canada collaborates with other jurisdictions and international organizations to strengthen protections for Canadians and the environment. These activities aim to:

promote and improve the sound management of chemicals globally
provide expert policy, technical and scientific support
provide guidance and advice on chemicals and air, water and soil pollution, including health and environmental impacts of chemicals

This is done through leadership roles or participation in:

multilateral environmental agreements on chemicals and waste, including:
- the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal
- the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
- the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
- the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
- the Minamata Convention on Mercury
the development and implementation of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Chemicals Road Map and associated Global Chemicals and Health Network
the development of the WHO's Global Air Quality Guidelines and Drinking Water Quality Guidelines; the OECD's Chemicals and Biotechnology Committee
the adoption of a Global Framework on Chemicals, which was decided at the fifth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5)

Canada also works to ensure that chemical production, use, distribution, consumption and disposal are included in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. This is done to ensure that the global scope of products and processes that Canadians depend on do not adversely affect their health or environment.

Finally, during the 2021 G7 Climate and Environment Ministers' Meeting, Canada announced its support for establishing a new legally-binding global agreement on plastics. Building on our continued efforts to champion the Ocean Plastics Charter, and promoting the transition to a circular economy, Canada played an instrumental role in co-facilitating, alongside Ghana, the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2). This led to the passing of the landmark decision to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) with a mandate to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution to be finalized by the end of 2024. Canada has continued to demonstrate this leadership in these negotiations, including as a member of the High Ambition Coalition on Ending Plastic Pollution (HAC) and offering to host the fourth of 5 of these negotiation sessions in Ottawa in April 2024.

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Date modified:: 2024-05-01

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